


(maybe) you're gonna be the one that saves me

by thegalaxyeffect



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: F/M, superhero au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-14
Updated: 2016-10-14
Packaged: 2018-08-22 08:11:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8278943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegalaxyeffect/pseuds/thegalaxyeffect
Summary: “That was kind of the point, Huckleberry.”“You know that’s not my name.”“Yes, but I refuse to call you Mr. Perfect. Do you know how pretentious that sounds? For months I thought that ‘P’ on your dumb suit stood for Pete.” She glances at him, his unamused expression. “You know, like Cactus Pete?”“Yes, I understood the reference.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of the prompt:  
> "Could you write a fic where Lucas and Maya have powers and Lucas is a "good" guy and Maya is a misunderstood villain with good intentions, and he's trying to catch her and ends up killing her and spends his time trying to figure out a way to bring her back? Good luck!"
> 
> This one took an unexpected turn and then several more. I hated it and then I loved it.   
> I hope you don't hate it as much as I do and love it more than I do.  
> Enjoy.

You can’t really blame him for being asleep, honestly. Just because the city never sleeps doesn’t mean that  _ he _ never sleeps. 

His team doesn’t really seem to understand that concept, seeing as his once peacefully quiet apartment is now flooded with whatever ringtone Riley set for their HQ phone.

He glances at the clock whose red numbers scream  _ 3:26 AM _ , making him groan.

“What?” He croaks, his voice strained from the couple hours of sleep he’s gotten. 

“Lucas! We think we know where she is! You have to get here right now!” Riley’s voice is frantic and Lucas doesn’t even have to ask who  _ she  _ is. 

“I’ll be there in five.”

“Make it three, Mr. Perfect.”

He easily slides into the suit on the floor next to his bed, crumpled from having been discarded only hours before.

He practically flies to HQ. Well, less practically, more literally.

He literally flies to HQ and makes it there with half a minute to spare, even then, Riley is on his case about taking so long.

“45 Rockefeller Plaza.” She practically yells, standing over Smackle as she punches things into a computer.

“What’s she doing at Rockefeller Center?” He asks, rubbing away the sleepiness from his eyes.

“Your guess is as good as ours.” Smackle supplies without taking her eyes off of the monitor in front of her.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she was there to do some mass terror act.”

“Then, you better go. You’ve been looking for her for years.” Riley practically shoves his mask at him.

“Go get your villain, Mr. P.” Smackle nods, still not looking up from her work.

***

 

She’s always found something comforting about the city. There’s something about watching the cars rush by, the people in a hurry, that she’s always liked. 

Every one of them has a story. It has always put the world into perspective for her, knowing that there are all of these people in one tiny city and she’s only one of them. 

She always thought that what she did would never matter. How could it when there are all of these people with lives and stories and memories and families?

That is, until she became some sort of, she doesn’t know, villain? Before she had a group of “superheroes” with a warrant out for her, what, arrest? Execution? 

She’s not really sure what will happen to her once they find her, but when she finds herself high up on a building, watching the city come alive below her, she has a hard time finding it in herself to care. 

Which is why, she guesses, she doesn’t move when she hears him landing behind her.

“You are a  _ very _ hard woman to track down.” His voice like gravel, she knows she must’ve woken him up and she takes some pleasure in the fact that she’s interrupting his beauty sleep.

“That was kind of the point, Huckleberry.”

“You know that’s not my name.”

“Yes, but I refuse to call you Mr. Perfect. Do you know how  _ pretentious _ that sounds? For months I thought that ‘P’ on your dumb suit stood for Pete.” She glances at him, his unamused expression. “You know, like Cactus Pete?”

“Yes, I understood the reference.” 

“Jesus, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”

“Is there a right side when it’s 3:30 in the morning?”

“Touche, Ranger Rick.” He watches her for a moment, watches her survey the city beneath her feet.

“You know your name isn’t much better. ‘Day’ what kind of a villain name is that?”

“Ever wonder if maybe it isn’t a villain name?” She raises an eyebrow at him. “If maybe I’m not a villain. If maybe not everyone falls into your black and white categories of good and evil, hero and villain?” 

He’s silent, taken by surprise at her asking this, but he forces himself to recover.  _ Don’t let her get the upper hand _ .

“Maybe, maybe not. But, I’ve got a pretty good feeling that you fall into one of those categories. And it’s not the same as mine.”

She laughs out loud at this. 

“Well, you’ll be surprised to find out that not everyone fits into your southern stereotypes, Hopalong.”

“You’re really getting all of those names out of your system aren’t you?”

He watches the grin spread across her face. He notices the way the city lights glint off of her, her black suit, her light hair, those bright eyes. He tries not to focus on the bitterness of her laugh and the way her eyes cut through him as if she’s reading his mind. It’s unnerving.

“Well, I get the feeling that this might be the last time I get the chance to.”

“If everything goes according to plan, you might be right.”

“Let’s hope, for my sake, your plan goes completely wrong.” She brushes off her suit as she stands, giving one last glance to the world below them. He tries to push aside the fact that she doesn’t have the same passion in her that she usually does. 

“Let’s do this thing, Heehaw.” 

She throws the first punch, it lands in his gut and knocks him back, but after that, it all just seems too easy. He’s either improved since the last time they fought, or she’s gotten worse. 

Eventually, he’s got her pinned down, her head hanging off of the side of the building, he’s got the upperhand and he knows he’s about to win. He’s about to be rid of his nemesis forever.

So, he’s not really sure why he feels himself pulling back, letting up, giving her a chance to get the upperhand over him.

He knows that she’s aware of what he’s doing, her eyes widen a little, full of some sort of emotion that he can’t quite read, before they harden again. 

Before he knows what she’s doing, she’s pulling them both backwards, launching herself, and nearly him, off of the top of Rockefeller Center.  

He watches in shock as her body gets smaller and smaller and smaller before finding it’s final destination in the middle of the Christmas Angels art display below him. 

He’s off the building and in his bed at home before he even has time to process what he just watched happen. 

 

***

 

“Lucas. Lucas. Lucas!” Riley snaps her finger in front of his face, finally bringing his attention back to the meeting at hand. 

“What?”

“Are you listening to a word I’m saying?”

“Uh, yeah. Of course.” 

“He’s obviously lying, Dorothy.” Smackle says. “Handsome probably needs to talk about his feelings right now.”

“Is that true?” Riley asks.

“Is she really dead?” He asks instead of answering. “Like, they found her body and everything?” 

“Yes, Lucas. She’s really gone. You got what you wanted, right?” 

“Yeah.” He rubs his eyes, wishing more than anything he had been able to get back to sleep the previous night. “What’s on the agenda for today?” 

Riley and Smackle take turns droning on about the predicted highest crime rate areas for the week and try to direct him to where he should be hanging around that day. 

He finds himself in some cafe in a sketchy part of Brooklyn, across the street from a bank that has a habit of getting robbed on Tuesdays. 

He figures that while he waits, he might as well do  _ something _ . He’s not 100% sure why he finds himself looking  _ her _ up, but nonetheless, he’s searching for anything similar to ‘NYC vigilante’ it’s a mostly unfruitful search.

That is, until he finds an article that links the villain Day with some dumb graffiti tag on the subways, it’s a few years old, right around the beginning of Day’s criminal activity. 

He thinks it to be a dead end lead until he, after many, many pages of scrolling, finds a criminal report that links a very similar graffiti to a girl named Maya Hart. 

Somehow, he finds an address for Maya Hart and without a second thought, is on a subway to some dingy apartment building in Washington Heights. 

When he gets there, he doesn’t know what he plans on saying.

_ Hi, my name is Lucas Friar, better known as Mr. Perfect, I think that last night I killed your girlfriend/mother/daughter/roommate. _

Yeah, he’s pretty sure that wouldn’t go over very well. 

He considers leaving before deciding that he’s come all this way, he might as well see what’s behind that door. So, he knocks. 

Barely two seconds later, the door swings open to find a disheveled kid about his age.

“Who are you?” He asks, cutting to the chase. 

“Uh, I’m Lucas Friar. I was wondering if this is where Maya Hart lives.”

The boy’s eyes narrow dangerously. 

“Maybe she does, maybe she doesn’t. What’s it to you?”

“Do you think that there’s a possibility that she might be, like, a super villain type person?”

His eyes widen immediately and he’s dragging Lucas into the apartment, slamming the door closed behind them and locking at least four different locks. 

“Why are you here? Who sent you? Who are you?” The boy demands, shoving Lucas into a chair. 

“I told you who I am, no one sent me.”

“So, why are you here?” 

“Is Maya Hart dead?”

The boy’s eyes squeeze shut, the aggressive nature almost completely fizzled out at the mention of her.

“Yeah. She died early this morning.” He eventually manages. “What’s it to you?”

“I think I might’ve killed her.”

His eyes slam open and the boy is yanking him up by his shirt, screaming profanities getting ready to take a punch when a familiar voice cuts in.

“Zay!” They both turn to see a third person enter the room. “Lucas Friar, when was the last time I saw you?”

“Farkle?” Lucas’ eyes widen, Zay lets him go. “Farkle Minkus?”

“The one and only.”

“Jesus, man. It’s been forever.” Lucas grins, embracing his friend.

“Okay, heartfelt reunion over. Farkle, this guy  _ killed _ Maya.” The boy- Zay practically spits. 

“So,  _ you’re _ Mr. Perfect.” Farkle nods. “I see it.”

Zay’s jaw drops. He sputters, looks between the two of them before making a choked sound and falling into a chair. He’s not really sure what’s being said between the two of them but before he knows it, he’s being pulled out the door and onto the subway, before being shoved inside another door to meet to surprised faces. 

“Lucas…” Riley looks at him inquisitively. “Who are your friends?” 

“This is Farkle Minkus.” He gestures to Farkle who shakes Riley’s hand. “We used to go to school together.”

“I go by The Doctor.”

“And this is Zay-”

“Ace!” Zay exclaims after a moment. “The name is Ace, sugar.” 

“That’s nice…” Riley smiles at them before turning on Lucas. “But why are they  _ here _ ?” 

“They think they know how to bring Maya Hart back.”

“Who is-”

“Day.”

Riley’s eyes widen.

“Lucas, she is- was your arch nemesis. Why in God’s name would you want to ‘bring her back’?”

“Farkle, do you hear the way that they’re talking about her?” Zay scoffs. “We shouldn’t even be here.”

Farkle holds up a hand to Zay and gestures for Lucas to continue.

“Riley, I don’t think that she was as bad as we think she was.”

“She  _ killed _ people!”

“Oh, like  _ he _ hasn't?” Zay spits, kicks a chair and sends it flying. 

“It’s different,  _ ‘Ace’ _ , he does what he has to do for the good of the city. He fights crime,  _ she _ created it.” 

“You don’t know anything about  _ her _ !” 

“Zay, calm down.” Farkle steps in between the two of them. “Maybe we can just sit down and discuss everything  _ calmly _ .” 

Lucas leads them to the table that is usually used for his briefings and the five of them sit down, Zay and Riley still steaming.

“Something was off about that fight.” Lucas starts, wringing his hands under the table. 

“Off how?” Smackle inquires. 

“I think that she jumped off of the building.”

Zay scoffs, crossing his arms in front of him. 

“Sure, of course you do.”

“ _ Zay _ .” Farkle warns.

“No, I’m serious..” Lucas shakes his head slightly. “I gave her a chance to get the upper hand and she didn’t take it.”

“Why would you  _ give _ her the chance to win?” Riley practically shrieks. 

“ _ Because _ . I don’t know.” He groans. “She said something to me before hand, she said something about not everyone falling into the black and white categories of good and evil.”

“She was obviously messing with your head!” Riley says, exasperated.

“I don’t think that was it.” Lucas grimaces. “Everything she said, it sounded like she knew she was saying it for the last time. Like, maybe, she knew that was going to be the end.”

“Did you ever consider that she just knew you’d win?” Riley rubs her temples.

“Maybe. But, she wasn’t fighting like she usually did. And, when I gave her the upper hand, I-I think she knew what I was doing. She looked all surprised and then she just kind of, pushed backwards off the building.”  He rubs a hand down his face. 

“Had she said anything about wanting to be done with all this? Had she shown any signs?” Smackle directs the question to Zay and Farkle. 

“She told me that maybe it wasn’t worth it.” They all look at Zay’s crestfallen face. “She said that after all this time, maybe finding him wouldn’t bring her the peace she was looking for.”

“Finding who?” Riley asks, her voice small.

“Her father.” Farkle supplies. He looks up at the group. “Her power is empathy, she can get into any one of our minds, predict what our next moves will be, understand our motives.”

“But, when she was a kid, her father killed her mother and then he left her.” Zay shakes his head, staring at the table. “She could get into anyone’s mind but his. She had been looking for him. She’d been desperate to know why he did what he did. Why he left a little girl father and motherless.” 

“All of the people that she’s ever hurt, they were leads. They were people who she, in one way or another, thought would lead to her father.” Farkle looks at Lucas’ grim expression.

“She took it too far at times, I’ll admit that.” Zay looks at Riley. “But she was  _ not _ evil.”

Riley swallows hard, runs her bottom lip through her teeth before speaking.

“So, how do we bring her back?”

“A scientist and I had been working on something a couple of years back, it’s able to shock a heart back into beating after up to a week of death by harnessing the energy from the sun basically like an-”

“Extreme defibrillator.” Smackle finishes, her eyes wide as they meet Farkle’s.

“Exactly.” He smiles at her bashfully. “I’m Farkle.”

“Isadora.”

“You’re a beautiful name. Wait- no. That. I meant that’s a beautiful name.”

The both blush, oblivious to the odd looks they’re receiving from the rest of the group.

“Okay.” Lucas interrupts their moment. “So, what happened? Why didn’t you ever finish it?”

“He kind of went off the deep end.” Farkle grimaces. “His wife died and he started drinking and using drugs, got fired from his job at this prestigious lab.”  

“You think he can help us?” Lucas asks.

“Well, I think I know where we can find him.”

 

***

 

The five of them find themselves standing in a hallway, in some luxury apartment building on the Upper West Side.

“I thought you said he went crazy and lost his job?” Riley squeeks, examining the expensive marble floors in the  _ hallway _ . 

“He did.” Farkle nods in awe too. “But before that, he did a lot of work for this lab, made huge discoveries. He’s probably set for life, financially.” 

“And you’re sure he’s gonna help us?” Lucas asks hesitantly. 

“No. I’m not sure.” Farkle admits.

“Well, this sounds promising.” Zay quips from his spot, leaned up against a pristine wall. 

“We at least have to try.” Lucas says, panic rising in his throat. 

Farkle knocks on the door instead of responding. They wait a minute in tense silence before Farkle knocks again. Another minute passes and Lucas is almost about to tell Farkle that it’s no use when the large door in front of them swings open.

A crumpled mess of a man stands before them, a blanket wrapped tightly around his body, his bearded face and disheveled hair the only things visible. His half lidded eyes open wide when he sees Farkle.

“Farkle Minkus!” He exclaims, his voice hoarse. 

“How are you doing, Mr. Hunter?” Farkle asks, nothing but polite.

“Please, you know to call me Shawn.” His head pokes out the door farther, he glances at the group of barely-adults in his hallway. “Zay? Jesus, man, you’ve grown up.”

“It’s been a while, Shawn.” Zay smiles, his first real, genuine smile that any of them, save for Farkle and probably Shawn, have seen.

“Where’s Maya-Papaya?” Shawn asks, glancing at all of them again.

“That’s actually why we’re here.” Farkle says, watching as the smile on Shawn’s face drops.

“Come on in.”

He opens the door wider and they file into his giant penthouse, finding seats around a kitchen island as he makes them all tea. 

“What’s going on with Maya?” He asks, setting down cups of tea in front of all of them after a moment. 

“Someone pushed-” Zay starts, glaring at Lucas before Farkle cuts in.

“She  _ fell _ off of Rockefeller Center early this morning.”

“Is she okay?” Shawn asks.

“Well, she’s dead.” Zay supplies, causing Riley to choke on her tea at his bluntness. 

“Damn.” Shawn shakes his head. “She was a great kid. There’s still a hole in my living room wall from the last time she was here.”

“Look, we need your help, Mr. Hunter.” Lucas says, pushing his cup of tea back.

“Who are you?” Shawn asks, then he gestures to Smackle and Riley. “Who are any of you?”

“I’m Lucas Friar.”

“Riley Matthews.”

“Smackle.”

“They’re better known as Mr. Perfect, Dorothy, and, well, Smackle.” Zay says.

“Hang on.” Shawn does a double take. “ _ You’re _ Mr. Perfect?”

“Yep.”

“Huh.” He shakes his head. “Disappointing.” 

“Trust me, I know.” Zay rolls his eyes. 

“What?” Lucas tries to be offended but really doesn’t have time.

“Shawn, we need your help.” Shawn raises an eyebrow at Farkle’s pleading. “Remember that thing we were working on a couple years ago? The EDF?”

“Yeah, I remember it.”

“We need to finish it.”

“Farkle, I want to help, I really do, but, we just don’t have the resources since I lost my job at Lab Corp.” 

“What if we can get what you need from Lab Corp?” Smackle speaks for the first time since they’ve arrived.

“How exactly do you plan to do that?” Shawn narrows his eyes.

“We have Mr. Perfect. He can pretty much get clearance to anything, anytime, anywhere. The city loves him.” Smackle explains. 

Zay scoffs. 

“If you think you and I can put it together, Lucas can get what we need.” Farkle says.

“Okay.” Shawn nods slowly. “Yeah, okay.” 

“I’ll get blueprints of the Lab Corp building so you can draw him a map.” Smackle offers, already typing away on her laptop. 

“I’ll schedule a meeting with one of the heads of Lab Corp so that he has an ‘in’.” Riley says, searching telephone numbers on her phone.

“So is this how it always is?” Zay asks Lucas, his arms crossed in front of him, a signature look, apparently. 

“Excuse me?” Lucas narrows his eyes.

“Is this how it always is?” He asks again, turning to face Lucas fully. “They set everything up, they do all the work and then you just swoop in and beat up the  _ ‘bad guy’ _ and then take all the credit?”

“What’s your problem with me, Zay?”

“Firstly, you  _ don’t _ call me Zay. You don’t call me anything, you don’t even talk to me. Secondly, my  _ problem _ with you is the fact that you are responsible for my best friend’s death.”

“No, I’m not, she-”

“ _ She fell. _ ” Zay mocks. “Yeah, that’s the hundredth time I’ve heard that today. And guess what, I don’t buy it. But that’s besides the point!”

“What  _ is _ the  _ point _ ?” Lucas demands, his blood turning hot.

“She fell, you pushed her, whoopty-freaking-doo, the fact of the matter is that she is  _ dead. _ The  _ only _ family that I’ve ever had, until Farkle, is  _ dead _ and  _ you _ are somehow responsible for it., you wanna be Superman.”

“How do you figure?” 

“Were you or were you not on your way to kill her?” 

Lucas blanches, unsure of what to say. 

“Yes, I was. But, look. Now I’m here, trying to raise her from the damn  _ dead _ .” 

“Yeah, and what’s gonna happen if you do? Are you going to go back to trying to kill her every other day? Is she going to be  _ ‘evil’ _ again?” Lucas doesn’t respond. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“You have to try to see this from my point of view.” 

“Oh, believe me I  _ do _ see it from your point of view. You’re a privileged “ _ superhero” _ who realized that he killed someone who’s innocent and now you’re trying to justify it by trying to save her.”

“That’s not-”

“Now, consider it from  _ my _ point of view. My best friend, the person I grew up with, she’s dead. She is  _ dead _ . She’s dead because  _ you _ decided to shove her in a box and label her as ‘evil’. Well, guess what, from  _ my _ point of view,  _ you’re _ the only villain. You call yourself Mr. Perfect, but, you’re the farthest thing from it.”

“Zay-” Farkle begins to cut in.

“No, Farkle, I’ve said my piece.” He turns to where Shawn is watching the events unfold with a dropped jaw. “It was really great to see you again, Shawn. But, I’m out.”

“Zay!” Riley calls after him but Farkle waves a hand at her.

“He just needs to cool down. We need to get going with this plan.”

 

***

 

Nearly two hours later, they have a concrete plan. Mr. Perfect will take a tour of Lab Corp and then break away somehow, Lucas has a map that Shawn drew tucked into his suit. He’ll find the lab that Shawn used to work at and send the things they need down the trash shoot where the rest of them will be waiting. 

It is  _ not _ what any of them would call a foolproof plan, but, it’s the only plan they have. 

“Are you almost ready to go?” Smacle asks, giving Lucas the map.

“Yeah, I just need a minute.” He gives Shawn a look and Shawn nods towards the ceiling.  _ The roof _ . 

It’s only one flight of stairs to get to the roof from Shawn’s penthouse, but, it is a little challenging considering he's holding two  _ very _ full cups of  _ very _ hot tea. 

He finds Zay sitting on the edge of the roof and takes a seat next to him.

“I know you told me not to talk to you, but, I brought tea. It’s cold up here.” Lucas hold the cup out to Zay, a peace offering. After an unsure look at Lucas, Zay takes one of the cups from him, thankful for something warm in the the cold December wind. 

“She always loved sitting up high like this.” Zay offers after a moment of quiet sipping. Lucas looks at him, honestly a little surprised that he’s even talking.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Ever since she was young.” He chuckles. “Girl used to drag me up onto roofs all the time, nearly gave me a heart attack every time.” 

“It’s nice up here.”

“She always said that it put things into perspective for her.” Zay looks down at his feet, dangling off of a building. “That with all of those people, doing all of their things, it didn’t really matter what she did.” 

“That’s a little depressing.” Lucas says. Zay laughs outright.

“Isn’t it?” Zay nearly has tears in his eyes. Lucas isn’t sure if it’s from laughing or just the fact that he’s coming to terms with Maya’s death. “It always made sense when she said it, you know? There was just something about the way she said it. It was almost hopeful.” 

Lucas understands what Zay means. He thinks back to earlier that morning, when he arrived to the building, how she was staring off of it, watching the tiny people below. There was an expression on her face that he didn’t really recognize then, but now, he gets it. He gets that it was hope. 

He’s not sure what she was hopeful for, maybe that it would all be over soon, a dark part of his mind suggests. 

“She goes by Day, you know?” Zay asks, looking at Lucas. “It means hope. That was always so weird to me, she was this dark storm cloud almost all the time as kids. She was never very hopeful. Didn’t make any sense.”

It makes sense to Lucas, he gets the idea. Naming your alter ego, your better self after what you strive to be, not what you are. 

His name was Mr. Perfect, for God’s sakes, of course he understood it. 

“You were right, you know?” Lucas offers after a minute. Zay looks at him, surprise on his face. “What happened to her, it is my fault.”

Zay shakes his head, sighs, and begins to disagree with him, but Lucas doesn’t let him.

“Look, if I could go back and redo that night, hell, I wouldn’t even have shown up.”

“I’m glad you were there.” Zay says, running a hand over his face.

“You are?” Lucas questions in surprise. 

“Something is telling me that she was going over that building either way. And if you hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have anyone to blame but myself.”

“You can blame me anytime, Zay. It makes it easier, I get it..”

“Yeah, but it’s not your fault. I know it’s not your fault and it’s unfair to blame you.”

“And I know it’s not yours.”

“Thank you, Lucas.” Zay claps a hand on Lucas’ shoulder and Lucas stands.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to break into the biggest science lab cooperation in North America.” He dusts his pants off. “I would really like to have you there, on my side.”

“And what side is that?” Zay raises an eyebrow at him. “The ‘good’ side?”

“No.” Lucas holds out a hand to him. “There’s no such thing as good and bad, it’s just my side.”

Zay grins before grabbing Lucas’ hand, allowing him to help him up. 

 

***

 

“And so, Mr. Perfect, this concludes the tour of Lab Corp.” An older man named Dr. Yancy smiles at Lucas. “Did you enjoy it?”

“I most definitely did, sir! You’re running a smooth operation here.” Lucas gives his most polite smile. 

“I’m so very glad to hear-”

“Dr. Yancy!” Zay comes running up to where the two of them stand, all dressed up in his ‘intern’ garb. 

“Who are you?” Dr. Yancy asks as Zay stops in front of them.

“Oh, of course, I’m Isaiah, the new intern.”

“Intern?”

“Look, sir, the head of security, Jack, asked me to come tell you about a disturbance.” Zay puts on a good act, breathless and eyes wide.

“Why is that any of my concern?”

“He said it had something to do with a Shawn Hunter?”

Dr. Yancy’s eyes widen.

“Shawn Hunter? Shawn Hunter is here? Oh, well, that’s not good.” He runs a hand over his beard. “Mr. Perfect, our intern here, uh…”

“Isaiah.” Zay supplies before muttering something about just saying that, under his breath. 

“Right, our intern Isaiah will show you out.” Dr. Yancy turns to leave right as Zay goes to walk towards them and they end up colliding, Zay puts a steadying hand on Dr. Yancy’s shoulder and hip.

“You okay, sir?”

“I’m fine!” Dr. Yancy pushes Zay off of him. “Who even hired you?” He mutters as he walks away. 

“Did you get his pass card?” Lucas asks from his spot next to Zay. Zay reaches into his pocket, presenting Dr. Yancy’s pass card between his index and middle fingers.

“What do you take me as? An ameature?” 

“Nice work, Zay.” Lucas compliments, snatching the card out of his hand. “Okay, I’ve got the map, you get out of here. Be as inconspicuous as possible.” 

“Sure thing, superdude.”

“I’ll meet you outside.”

“See you on the other side of the war.”

Lucas vaguely hears a rather loud ‘Patrice, how are you doing? How’s Dave? And the kids?’ followed by a ‘Lorraine said  _ what! _ ’ as he makes his way through a maze of hallways and can’t help but shake his head and wonder if Zay even knows what inconspicuous means. 

Lucas finds a door marked D-42 and double checks on the map to make sure that’s where he needs to be, when he’s sure he swipes Dr. Yancy’s pass card and a light flashes green. He opens the door to a rather dusty room.

Shawn told them that his lab hasn’t been used since he got fired, most everything he was working on was shut down mid-investigation, which is why it should all still be in the same area. 

It doesn’t take very long for Lucas to locate everything that they need, it’s mostly just looking at poorly sketched pictures and matching them with the actual things. 

Once he’s gotten the last one shoved into a backpack, he finds the trash shoot and, as carefully as possible, sends the backpack down the shoot. He listens to make sure he has the right one and when he hears Riley’s- or maybe Farkle’s- shriek as the backpack hurtles down, he knows he does. 

He’s just about to leave when a light flips on and reveals a curly, dark haired girl. Her nametag says Marly on it. 

“What are you doing in here?” She asks, surprised.

“Just fighting crime, science lady.”

“There’s crime in here?”

“Not anymore there isn’t.”

With that he slides past her and gets out of the building as fast as possible. When he finds the rest of the group outside, he scans to make sure everyone is there and sure enough, they’re missing one.

“Where’s Zay?” 

The doors at the front of the building slide open and Zay saunters out.

“Sure thing, Maurice, we’ll chat more over brunch on Sunday!” He waves to some lady and then turns to the rest of them. “What took you guys so long?”

“Let’s just get out of here.” Riley suggests, slinging the backpack over her shoulder.

“Yeah, before I get arrested or something.” Shawn adds from behind his hood.   

“Sounds good to me.” Lucas says, leading the way. 

 

Once they arrive back at Shawn’s apartment, everyone is a bunch of nerves. 

“How long do you think it’ll take for you two to put this thing together?” Zay shuffles his feet, his playful mood from the rush of going ‘undercover’, as he calls it, gone. 

“It shouldn’t be more than a few hours, as long as Smackle is willing to help?” Farkle nearly blushes. 

“Of course.”

“What should we do until then?” Riley asks.

“Just chill out for a while. Take a nap, or, I have a pool table in the other room.” Shawn offers. 

Lucas and Zay try to play a game of pool, but, it’s mostly Lucas shooting balls in while Zay and Riley flirt. 

“Zay.” 

“Yeah, man?” Zay looks up from where Riley was showing him some video on her phone.

“It’s your turn.” Lucas nods to the pool table. 

“Oh, yeah.”

“I’m going to go get something to eat, you boys want anything?” Riley asks, tucking her phone into her pocket. 

“No thanks.”

“I’m good, sugar.”

Once Riley leaves the room, Zay turns to where Lucas is about to take his shot.

“Hey, there’s nothing, like,  _ going on _ between you and Riley, right?”

Lucas looks up from his host, surprise coloring his face.

“What?”

“You and Riley.”

“No. Dude,  _ no _ . Riley is like my sister.” He shakes his head vehemently. “Absolutely not.” 

“Cool, cool. Good.” Zay leans casually against the pool table.

“Wait, why?” Lucas arches an eyebrow at him.

“What? Pft, no reason.” He laughs nervously. “She’s just cool to, uh, be. Around. I guess.”

“You  _ like _ her don’t you?” Lucas grins, his voice teasing.

“No, no. She’s just cool.” Zay scoffs. 

“Zay.”

“Hm?”

“There is not, nor has ever been  _ anything _ going on between Riley and me. Use that information in whatever way you see fit.”

“Thank you, Lucas.”

“Guys!” Riley bursts through the door, her expression a mix of nervous and excited. “It’s done.”

  
  


“So, what exactly do we do when we get to the morgue?” Lucas asks, rubbing his hands in front of him to keep warm.

“Ask to see the body.” Zay says simply. 

“Sure, but, we can’t exactly just walk out with a previously dead, alive person.” Riley says adjusting her earmuffs. 

“I know this place like the back of my hand.” Smackle says, walking closer to Farkle than she really needs to.

Zay, Riley, and Lucas give her a strange look and she rolls her eyes.

“I looked at the blueprints. There’s a back exit.”

“So what? We get convicted with stealing a supposedly dead person?” Riley asks, her eyes wide.

“I don’t think that’s a crime.” Farkle says at the same time Smackle says:

“It’s more common than you’d think.”

“O-kay.” Shawn furrows his eyebrows at the two of them making eyes at each other. “The plan is, I wait at the back exit with the EDF. Zay, you’re good at talking to people, you stay in the lobby area and distract the mortician. You three find Maya’s body while Smackle opens the back door. Then, we’ll give her a little shock and I’ll leave out the back door with her.”

“Hang on, so we are actually going to be grave robbers?” Lucas asks.

“They’re not technically in the grave yet.” Zay corrects.

“Dead body robbers?”

“I actually already hacked into the morgue's computer system and deleted any trace of Maya from it.” Smackle says proudly.

“Wow.” Farkle utters, awestruck.

“So when we go in there, we’re looking for Mrs. Svorski.” Smackle finishes explaining. “She’s one of the other bodies in there.”

“Alright, good luck, kids.” Shawn says when they draw near to the morgue. “Smackle, I’ll be waiting.” 

They walk into the morgue, the bell above their head chiming. 

 

“What can I do for you guys?” A young, monotone voice asks from behind the front desk. “I’m Josh.”

“Aren’t you a little young to be a mortician?” Lucas can't help but ask. Josh shrugs.

“I’m an intern.” 

“Uh, we’re here to see a Mrs. Svorski.” Farkle says.

“Are you guys her relatives?” 

“Yes!” Riley exclaims. “We are her grandkids.” 

Josh raises an eyebrow at the differences between the five people in front of him.

“Sure.” He says after a moment. “Right this way.” 

Riley shoves Zay forward and he stumbles into the front desk, catching his balance quickly to lean casually on the counter.

“I couldn’t help but notice that Gossip Girl poster you have over there.” Zay smiles sweetly. “Our Netflix got shut off before the last season, you know, because the bill was always paid by good ole Grandma Sporkski-”

“Svorski.” Smackle coughs.

“ _ Svorski _ , right. We always called her Grandma S.” Zay laughs nonchalantly. “Point is, I  _ have _ to know how the show ends, do you mind telling me?” 

“Uh, sure.” Josh furrows his eyebrows and Zay turns back to the group, waving them through.

“You guys go on ahead, this could take a while.” 

“Uh, actually, you aren’t supposed to go in there alone-”

“Josh!” Zay cuts him off with a smile. “Grandma S, would want you to tell me how Gossip Girl ends. It was her  _ dying _ wish.”

“Uh, okay.” He buzzes the door open and then turns to Zay. “So, it all starts when summer is over and Serena has gone missing.”

“No, not Serena!” They can hear Zay gasp as they make their way into a cold, sterile room. 

“I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I don’t think it was this.” Lucas says, shuddering at the metal locker-like cabinets. 

“Are you kidding?” Smackle grins. “It’s just like I always pictured it.”

“Uh.” Riley furrows her eyebrows.

“Smackle, you should go let Shawn in.” Farkle suggests. Smackle nods and is hurrying away to find the back door.

“I don’t like it in here.” Riley complains. 

“I’m not a huge fan of it, either.” Lucas says. 

“Me neither.” Shawn’s voice joins them. “So, let’s get out of here as quickly as possible.”

“She’s in this one.” Farkle says from the other side of the room, he pauses, staring at the metal door. “I don’t know if I can do it. Maya was my best friend.”

“I’ll do it, Farkle.” Lucas says, stepping forward.

Shawn, Riley, Smackle, and Farkle stand behind him as he gathers the courage to slide the weird door out. He cringes, shutting his eyes at he pulls it out with a creak. 

Once it’s open a couple inches, he slowly opens one eye to see,  _ not _ a dead body. His other eye flies open and he yanks the drawer out wider.

“ _ Guys _ .” His eyes widen as the four of them close in on him, staring at the drawer with mouths agape. “She’s not in here.” 

“Are you sure this is the right one?” Riley asks with a small voice.

“We need to check them all.” Shawn says, running to the other side of the room, pulling out drawers as he goes, checking for Maya’s body. 

“Lucas, Smackle, and I don’t even really know what she looks like.” Riley says.

“She’s blonde.” Farkle summarizes, frantically pulling open the metal drawers.

Riley opens the one next to the empty one and cringes.

“I think I found our grandma.” 

They frantically search all of the metal cabinets, looking at over forty dead, naked bodies. 

“Come on guys, it’s useless.” Shawn says, slamming one of the drawers closed. 

“Where could she be?” Lucas demands. 

Farkle looks down at the floor, shock and sadness written all over his face.

“She should’ve been here.” He mutters. 

“I suggest we get out of here, it’ll be easier to think when we aren’t surrounded by dead people.” Smackle says, taking Farkle’s hand and leading him out.

“In the final shot, a new generation of wealthy Upper East Siders are seen at Constance as a new lonely boy walks past his classmates, thus, the beginning of a brand new Gossip Girl.” Josh finishes explaining to a genuinely wide eyed Zay.

“That changed my life, Josh.” Zay nods sincerely. 

“How was your grandma?” Josh asks at the rest of them file out of the room.

“Dead.” Replies Lucas with a forced, tight lipped smile.

“Right, sorry.” Josh notices Shawn for the first time. “Hang on, were you with them when they came in?” 

Shawn’s eyes widen.

“Yes!” He laughs nervously. “Of course.”

“You’re one of Mrs. Svorski’s grandchildren?” Josh asks skeptically.

“What? No, don’t be ridiculous.” Shawn swallows a groan. “I’m her husband.” 

“ _ You’re _ her  _ husband _ ?” 

“Yes, yep. That is what I seem to have said.” 

“Okay, sure. Right on, man.” Josh nods.

“If you’ll excuse us, Grandpa Svorski is very late to a doctor’s appointment.” Riley smiles, leading Shawn out as if he were an old man. 

“Or forty years early.” Shawn mutters under his breath.

 

***

 

“Where is Maya?” Zay asks once they all get back to Shawn’s apartment. 

“She wasn’t there.” Lucas mutters, kicking a chair. 

“What do you mean she wasn’t there?”

“We checked all of the body refrigerators, Zay, she wasn’t in any of them.” Riley explains, rubbing his shoulder. 

“So, where is she?”

“My theory is that she somehow faked her own death so that she could fly under the radar.” Farkle says, sitting down across from Lucas and setting up Smackle’s computer.

“What would she want to lay low for?” Shawn asks, rubbing a hand over his beard.

“Who was she always looking for, guys?” Farkle asks, hope returning to his eyes.

“Her father.” Lucas mutters.

“Exactly. So, what do we know about her father?” 

“He’s famous for robbing banks.” Zay offers.

“Perfect. Smackle, you search for any nearby bank robberies and I’ll search for nearby criminals with the last name Hart, then we’ll compare.” Farkle says, already typing things into his computer. 

“You really think this will lead us to her?” Lucas asks, muffles from his hands covering his face.

“I think it’s our best lead.” Farkle responds honestly.

“What if it’s not.” Zay says, his eyebrows furrowed in thought.

“What do you mean?” Riley asks.

“Farkle, you remember that find my phone app we installed on Maya’s phone because she kept wandering off in the city?” 

“Yeah.” Farkle nods slowly.

“What if we just use that and see where she last was.”

“You think it could be that easy?” Lucas asks.

“It’s definitely worth a shot.” Farkle says, pulling out his phone and punching some things into it. 

The whole group watched him, collectively holding their breaths.

“Huh.” He hums after a moment.

“What? What is it?” Lucas asks, leaning even farther forward in his seat.  

“Lehigh Valley.” Farkle responds.

“Pennsylvania?” Shawn asks.

“Is she there?” Zay demands.

Farkle looks up from his phone, a small smile gracing his face.

“Road trip, anyone?”

 

***

 

“GPS says it’s only a two hour drive.” Shawn says once they’re all piled into his SUV.

“Mini road trip?” Farkle questions from his spot between Smackle and Riley. Zay is in the front seat, after calling shotgun, and Lucas is sitting on the spacious floor in front of Riley. 

“This is a really nice car, Shawn.” Lucas compliments. 

“Oh, thanks. Angela insisted I get it instead of the sports car I had my eye on.” Shawn chuckles to himself. “I haven’t driven it much since she died.” 

“That’s rough, Shawn.” Zay puts his hand on Shawn’s shoulder. “You two were like parents to me.” 

“She loved you like a son, Zay.” Shawn focuses his eyes back on the road. “I actually want to thank you guys. I haven’t exactly been myself this past year. It’s been hard for me to cope. This past day, that seems like ten years, has been good for me.”

“How so?” Riley asks.

“Well, it’s inspired me to get back on my feet. I know that the person I’ve been isn’t the person Angela would want me to be. And you guys have shown me that there’s still a lot more love to go around. Despite your differences, you all worked so well together.” 

“We couldn’t have done what we have today without you, Shawn.” Farkle says, nothing but sincerity in his voice. 

“Or should we call you Grandpa?” Smackle asks with a wink that sends the whole car into fits of laughter. 

Lucas hasn’t felt this carefree in a long time, none of them have, really, and he realizes that the only other person he wants with him right now, is Maya. Which is weird considering they’ve spent the past three years as enemies. It also just kind of makes sense. 

 

***

 

After about an hour and a half of playing various road trip games, Zay announces that he can absolutely not hold his pee for any longer.

“Can’t you just wait until after we get Maya?” Shawn complains. “We’re almost there.”

“Nope, I don’t want to accidently pee myself from excitement. She’d never let me live that down.”

And, so, they stop at a gas station and, it turns out, all of them had to pee. 

Lucas is wandering the isles of beef jerky and candy when Riley comes up next to him. 

“So, what exactly is your plan?” She asks, picking up a box of Milk Duds. 

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, when we get Maya back. You guys have been, like, sworn enemies.” Riley puts the box of candy down and reaches for a Reese’s.  

“I guess I’m not really sure. We won’t go back to being enemies, though.” Lucas nods to himself, certain that him and Maya can work out any differences they might have. He’s hopeful that one day, he might be able to look into her mesmerizing blue eyes and see more than a fight.

“Can I ask you a question without you getting all embarrassed?” Riley asks, a teasing smile appearing on her face.

“What?”

“Do you, oh, I don’t know, have, like, a  _ crush _ on Maya.”

Lucas’ face burns red at her question.

“What?” He scoffs. “No.” 

“You liked the whole cat and mouse game that you two played, you liked the banter. It all made you develop a little crush on her, didn’t it? That’s why you tried to give her the upper hand, because you didn’t want it to stop.” Riley looks proud of herself for figuring it out.

“Can’t my motive for not killing her be that I’m a decent person?” He asks, running a hand through his hair.

“Sure, but, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have a crush on her.”

“Riley.”

“Just admit it.”

“Okay!” Lucas laughs, the tips of his ears on fire. “Maybe, I developed a little crush on her.”

“I knew it!” Riley smiles broadly, tossing the candy down and skipping back out to the car. 

“That girl will be the end of me.” Lucas mutters, his hand sliding over his face. 

 

***

 

“Take a left here.” Farkle directs from the backseat. They pull into a parking lot to a dingy looking twenty four hour diner.

“Queen City Diner.” Smackle reads the fluorescent sign in front of them.

“She’s here?” Zay asks, turning around in his seat. 

“That’s what this says.” Farkle says, holding up his phone.

“I’m going in.” Lucas announces, crawling out of his cramped position on the floor. He expects some sort of argument to arise from her friends, her only family, about wanting to be the first one to see her. He suspects the lack of one comes from the fact that none of them want to be the first one to find out if she’s not there.

So he walks in, the bell above the door chiming over his head. There’s only about four people in the diner, his eyes are automatically drawn to a girl sitting in a booth by herself, her familiar eyes focused on some drawing in front of her.

He doesn’t have to know what she looks like in street clothes, or without her mask on, to know that it’s her. He slides into the booth across from her, quickly taking note of the fact that the drawing looks somewhat similar to what he looks like in his suit. 

“Is this seat taken, ma’am?” 

She barely looks up at him before rolling her eyes, obviously trying to hide a smile.

“I don’t even know why you bother to wear a mask, Huckleberry.” She finally looks at him straight on and he is hit like a brick at the intensity of her eyes. “It’s pretty obvious that you’re you. Even in your street clothes.”

“Well, I could say the same about you.” She hums in response.

“Did you come here to arrest me? Or better yet, finish me off for good?” She asks it even though she knows his answer.

“Not this time.” He smiles at her. “I’ve actually been on a  _ hell _ of a ride to find you.”

“Oh, have you?” She raises an eyebrow.

“Yeah, all your buddies are in the car.” 

“I figured they would be.” There’s some sort of adoration in her voice, a soft emotion he’s never seen on her before. “So, why have you been looking for me.”

“Well, someone once told me that not everyone falls into black and white categories of good and evil.” 

“That person must be very wise.” She tries to hide a smile.

“Yeah, I think she might be onto something.” 

“What are you proposing, Ranger Rick?” 

“We can work together. We can bring justice to people who need it, no more good and evil, heros and villians, just two people working together to make the world a better place.”

“Like a couple of robin hoods?” 

“Yeah.”

“Or vigilantes.” There’s a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. 

“Whatever you want, Maya.” He smiles at her again, his heart beating in his chest for what feels like the first time. “We can even track down you father.”

“You know what? I think that that might be a dead end. A waste of time. And, I think that I’m actually okay with that.” She runs her lip between her teeth, something that Lucas can’t help but watch. 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I’ve spent so much of my life being angry and wanting vengence. I think that, I’m okay with just, forgetting about him. Moving on with my life.”

“That’s a good thing.”

“You’re right. It is.” She smiles at him and he feels like he can’t breath. “So, no. I do not want to be your partner in justice. But, I would love to be your…”

She bites her lip, trying to find the right word.

“Costume designer.” She decided on. He can’t help but laugh. “You’re suit could use a lot of improvements. And, I like creating stuff.”

“It sounds like a deal to me.” Lucas says, admiring how she’s watching him through her eyelashes. 

“I kind of feel like I should kiss you now.” She says.

“I absolutely would  _ not _ stop you.” He grins, his face turning red.

“I think we’ve got plenty of time for that, Lucas.” 

“You’re right, we should get out to the car, Zay is probably about to piss himself from excitement. 

Her eyes light up as she laughs. She collects her drawings and stuffs them into a backpack before grabbing his hand and pulling him outside. 

She only lets go to embrace Zay dramatically, and then Farkle tearfully, and then Shawn like a father and daughter would.  She meets Riley and Smackle and instantly falls in love with Riley, laughing at the way Smackle flirts with Farkle. 

Lucas can’t help but think that this is the happiest that he’s ever been.

 

***

 

_ “How is Mr. Friar doing today, Dr. Minkus?” Dr. Isadora Smackle stands next to her colleague as they examine their patient, Mr. Friar, curled into a ball on his bed, practically unresponsive.  _

_ “About the same as he has been.” Dr. Minus responds, checking things off of a clip board.  _

_ “No improvements?” _

_ “He acknowledged Nurse Matthews when she brought him his lunch. He hasn’t moved to eat it, though.” _

_ “Has he responded to his friend, Mr. Babineaux at all?” _

_ “I’m afraid not.” Dr. Minkus sighs. “All the signs point to psychosis. The detachment from reality, the hallucinations.”  _

_ “It’s almost as if the psychosis developed as a coping method after seeing the death of his fiancee, Ms. Hart.”  _

_ “It would seem so.” _

  
  


**Fin.**

**Author's Note:**

> Yikes.  
> Let me know what you think!


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